Wednesday, March 23, 2011

This first one was SUPPOSE to be Pomegranate Fig, but I only had a tiny amount of Pomegranate Fig fragrance oil. So I added some Apple Jack and Peel, and some Violey Shea. It actually smells pretty good! Like the inside of a big farm stand. I'm calling Orchard House.

And this one is a blend of essential oils - Sage and Lavender, with a tiny bit of Palmarosa and Ylang Ylang. Smells good! I'm calling it Sage and Flowers.

I have a couple of soaps ready to come off the curing rack, I hope to get the photos taken this week and get then listed. One is Lilac, and the other is a blend of Lily of the Valley, Wild Rose, and Myrhh (I haven't decided what to call this one yet).

AND I'm showing you this photo that Ray took of some horses. I just love it! Be sure to click on it to enlarge!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Last Friday I cut 4 logs of soap. The first, Blue Garden. This is scented with a sweet violet fragrance oil, and swirled with ultramarine blue. When I first poured it, it was a nice eggshell white with a lovely blue swirl.

(click on any image to enlarge)

But surprise! There must be quite a bit of vanilla in the fragrance oil, because it is darkening up quite a bit!

As you can see in the photo below, the inside of the soap was still quite light when I cut it.

But see how dark the top and the sides of the soap are? THATS how dark the inside of the soap is now, after almost a week of curing on the rack. I kinda like it! Maybe I should call it Midnight Garden instead of Blue Garden!

Next up, Asian Lily and Musk Melon. This is a restock, and is pretty popular in the warmer weather. It looks and smells just as it should. I love it when a soap is consistent every time I make it. :) Some soaps, it seems no matter what I do, it looks or smells different every time I make it.

And two shaving soaps! Both the same recipe, just different scents and colors.

The first shaving soap is for the girls, because it's just about time to shave those legs! A really nice blend of essential oils - orange, lemon, clove, patchouli, and ylang ylang. For clay, a nice white Kaolin clay.

And for the guys or girls, Bay Rum, with green French clay.

Now, you might be wondering, what makes a shaving soap a shaving soap? Well to start off with, I use oils that help produce plenty of stable lather. By stable, I mean lather that is going to stick around for a little bit, time enough to complete your shave. And I don't want big bubbly lather, I want a creamy lather. SO, of course I need plenty olive oil to make sure your shaving soap is mild. And coconut oil because we do need SOME bubbly lather. Cocoa butter, yes, definitely. This helps with the stable lather part, along with the sweet almond oil. The castor oil adds a little bit of slide, so your razor doesn't drag. Clay also helps with the slide. And finally, a little bit of sugar .. yes! sugar! .... to help with that lather. OH OH I almost forgot goat milk! Gotta have goat milk for mildness, creaminess, and goodness!

All four soaps are now contently resting on the curing rack in the soap room. :)

Oh, I LIKE this soap! First of all, the scent is such a clean scent! Not flowery, not powdery, not grassy, not medicinal. Just a clean sage scent, without being too herbaceous. This is scented with a fragrance oil (high quality, skin safe, phthalate free). I love the way it left my skin smelling so clean!

The lather is wonderful! The recipe utilizes cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, and castor oil, all which help to produce a good, stable lather. And I also included a bit of white kaolin clay. This soap actually makes a good shaving soap, with the creamy lather and the slip from the castor oil and clay. Cause you know, girls, you're gonna be wearing shorts soon!

Getting out of the shower, my skin did not feel dry or tight. The amount of olive oil I use in my soaps guarantee a mild and conditioning bar. And the cocoa butter always adds a good amount of conditioning to a soap!

All in all, I give this soap a big thumbs up, and I'll be using it again! :)